Forest Dale, Vermont: Paul Eriksson Publishing
$15.00
As one of Maine’s most ubiquitous and abundant seafood products, mussels have long been somewhat maligned, dismissed as a “poor man’s food,” and considered by many to be gritty, hard to clean, and limited in culinary scope to steaming with a little wine and garlic. This book, combined with Great Eastern Mussels themselves, solves all of these problems.
I really enjoyed the variety of recipes presented, ranging from Thailand to Italy to Oregon to Mexico. After reading in the introduction that folks in some parts of Belgium and France consume more mussels per capita than Americans eat of all seafood put together, I decided to try a couple of recipes from these regions.
Cream of Mussel soup and Mussels in Blue cheese sauce went down well, and were well worth the extra effort, although these preparations did put a bit of a dent in the reputation of mussels as low-fat food. On the lighter side, I did try a couple of the recommended steamed preparations, and found Mussels Steamed in Beer and Steamed Dijon Mustard Mussels to be quick and interesting alternatives to the usual (but still satisfying) Mussels Steamed in Wine and Herbs. I also tried a few of the ethnic preparations, such as Portuguese Mussel Stew and Mussel Diavolo, which were generally spicy and hearty mixes, but the house favorite ended up being the simple but elegant Saffron Mussel Cream Soup.
This list, along with the fact that I did not reach the end of the book (nor had an anti-mussel revolt in the house) gives some idea of the preparation variety. A further advantage of mussels is that they seem to have been immune to price increases over the years. One can still put together a decent appetizer for four with less than four dollars, and all you need is a bag of mussels and some herbal snips from the garden. The $15 purchase price for the book is one of those rare cookbook expenses that will be quickly paid for by the cost savings of the ingredients called for. A final word on the mussels themselves – while I will still gather up a mess of mussels when I find myself in need on some remote beach, the cleanliness of the Great Eastern two-pound sacks I used for these recipes more than made up for their cost. With no more than a spray from the tap, they were truly ready for use. The local grocery is not so scenic as the shore, but when it comes to enjoying these Maine-grown products, this is one time I don’t mind paying for something that could be had for free. So for a quick, clean, cheap, and satisfyingly homegrown meal, pick up a cookbook and try something new and different with mussels.
The Great Eastern Mussel Cookbook is available from Great Eastern Mussel Farms, PO Box 141, Long Cove Road, Tenants Harbor, ME 04860, 207-372-8256, or email gem@midcoast.com.